Box toe for shoes



Oct. 24, 1944. N, LA QCHAPELLE I 2,360,951-

BOX TOE FOR SHOES Filed April 29, 1943 V 0,; w? a :"(13 Q9 41: 24 22 .20 42 INVENTOR f5? AIAKM/EZLE ATTORNEY Patented Get. 24, i9

Box TOE FOR snons Fred N. La Chapelle, Beverly, Mass, assignor to Evelyn May La Ghapelle, Beverly, Mass.

Application April 29,. 1943, Serial No. 484,951

9 Claims.

This invention relates to box toe cap constructions.

Qbjects of the invention include the provision of a box toe cap for shoes having a relatively stifl strengthening member which prevents the toe cap from flexing under ordinary pressures in the central region of the box toe, the strengthening and stiflening element being made of fibrous material such as wood or paper of any grade, or the stifiener may be made of any other relatively stifl material; the provision of a box toe cap stiffener which is extremely inexpensive to manuiacture and which can be used with any form of box toe cap whether made of felt, jute or the like materials and-which are of themselves of a less rigid nature than the stiffening element; the provision of a box toe cap including a stiffening element which will permit the manufacture and use or cheap grades of box toe caps, applied as usual in the pulling over and lasting operations, and which will render a cheap toe cap stronger and stifler in the finished shoe than a. high priced toe cap of present manufacture.

Further objects of the invention include the provision of methods of making a box toe cap stiflener cheaply and efiiciently in production with no waste of material and which may be used in any shoe in which box toes are incorporated.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a shoe with parts broken away illustrating one ,form of the invention;

Fig, 2 is a bottom plan view of a flat toe cap blank embodying the invention;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the stiilener or reinforcing element; I

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the stiflening element of Fig. 3; v

Fig. 5 illustrates a step in the manufacture of the stifieners and i Fig. 6 is a cross section through a box toe cap embodying a modified form of the invention.

The usual commercial box toe, for instance of the Beckwith type, ordinarily comprises a shaped blank of felt or Jute impregnated with certain waxes and oils, which can be built into the shoe in the pulling over and lasting operations and which will more or less satisfactorily retain its shape after the shoe has been dried. One disadflat form at W in Fig. 2, and it will be seen that vantage oi this box toe, and of other similar box toes, resides in the fact that it will flex to become depressed even when a small pressure is applied to the toe of the shoe. Also, heat tends to soften the usual box toe and allow the same to become stretched and to get out of shape even-under ordinary conditions and the result is that these shoes soon become deformedand unsightly,

In Fig. 1 of the drawing I have shown a conventional shoe i0 having a heel I2, a sole ,aiid a toe I6. The toe I6 has been broken away to show the toe cap construction in'which the conventional felt or jute material is shown at l8, this material forming a cap which covers the entire toe of the shoe down to the sole. I have provided a novel stiflener for the felt or Jute toe cap, as well as for toe caps of other materials, this stiflener comprising, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, a triangular piece 20 which is preferably skived around its edges as at 22 for the purpose of providing a smooth fit in the toe cap. The conventional toe cap material is shownin its my stiffener underlies the conventional toe cap blank l8 and extends from side to Side of the toe as at 24 and to the front of the toe as at 26. This construction provides what might be called a three point suspension for the toe cap leaving the edges of the usual toe cap i8 and i8 uncovered for easier lasting of the toe cap to the shoe 0 the last.

My stiffener 20 may be made of a thin wood fiber sheet; it may be made of paper of required stiffness, or it may be made or any other relatively stifl material desired. I have found that a certain grade of thin but relatively still paper or paper board serves the purpose to a very fine degree.

As shown in Fig. 6 the toe cap may comprise the. usual material of felt, jute, or the like in'two separated parts or layers as at 28 and 30, the stiffener being sandwiched between layers 28 and 30, so as to present, even to the shoe manufacturer, the usual conventional appearance of a boxtoe cap blank. 1 v

The triangular shape of the stiffener is' only the preferred form, giving as it does, the support where it is needed at the sides and front of the toe, and the stiflener in these circumstances provides an extremely rigid construction not found in conventional box toe caps. The stifl'ener may have adhesive applied to the side which is located next to the material 18' or it may have adhesive applied to both sides when used in the Fig. 6 construction. In tact, the stiffener may go between separate layers or, the box toe, on top of the box toe, or underneath it; itmay be made in any shape desired, as in a circle or elongated strip extending from side to side of the toe of the shoe, or it may be made in a T-shape or other forms. The stiflener may be applied to the box toe cap blank so that it will be in one piece therewith for application to the shoe in the conventional waytor the stiffener can be added to the box toe cap when placing it in the upper at the pulling over operation. The stiffener may be made withany make or manufacture of box toe cap and it may be incorporated in a cheap box toe cap, effecting a stronger box toe than the present high grade manufactures, thus representing a large saving to the shoe manufacturer.

In manufacturing the stiiieners, I provide long strips of the material which is to be used, as shown in Fig. 5, these strips being superposed so as to cut out a large number of the triangular form stifffleners at each out along lines 34, thus resulting in an inexpensive formation of the stiffeners. If desired the edges of the strips may be first skived along lines 36 so that it is necessary to skive the individual stifieners along two sides only, rather than along all three sides. This method of manufacture may be carried out no matter what the shapeof the stiffener and I have determined that it is very easy to cut out as many as forty-eight pairs of stifieners at each cut.

My new stiffener for box toe caps is not affected by heat, as is the usual toe ca-p. It places the strength where most desired; it renders cheap toe caps stronger than the present higher priced grades; it adds almost nothing to the cost of the shoe; and it presents no manufacturing problems nor are new machines or mechanisms necessary to make the stifl'eners. besides providing firm gripping points for the pincers of the pulling over machine, preventing tearing and stretching of both toe cap and upper.

I claim: 1. A box toe cap for a shoe comprising a layer .of soft box toe cap material and a layer of stiff fibrous material, said soft material adapted to extend to the insole of the shoe at the side and front edges thereof in a continuous line, and said stiff material adapted to extend to the insole at spaced points only.

2. A box toe cap blank comprising a layer of relatively soft box toe cap material and a layer of relatively stiflf material being in the usual form and the stiff material extending substantially to the edges of the soft material at spaced points only.

3. The box toe cap blank of claim 2 wherein the spaced points stated are located at opposite side edges of the layer of soft material.

4. The box toe cap of claim 1 wherein the spaced points are located at the sides of the toe cap.

5. The box toe cap of claim 1 wherein the spaced points are located at the sides and front of thetoe cap.

6. The box toe cap of claim 1 wherein the stifl layer is generally triangular. v

'7. The box toe cap of claim 1 wherein the stiff layer is generally triangular, having a point at the front of the capand a point at each side thereof. 7

8. The box toe cap blank of claim 2 wherein the stiff layer is triangular.

9. The box toe cap blank of claim 2 wherein the soft material is generally semi-circular in shape and the stiff layer is generally triangular with a side of the triangle generally parallel to the straight side of the soft layer.

'FREDNLA CHAPELLE. 

